CPS University is the new comprehensive professional development solution that has replaced PD Central as the location to sign up and receive credit for professional development. CPS University works in part with CPS@Work and can be accessed through the CPS@Work website.
To access CPS University you can either log in to CPS@Work and choose the appropriate icon or link:
Or type this into the address bar of your web browser: https://cpsuniversity.cps.k12.il.us/
You maybe prompted to enter your login and password which will be the same as it is for all the other CPS logins.
Never hit the Back and Forward buttons of your web browser while using CPS U. Though it may look like a webpage, CPSU is a program run off a server downtown. A web browser is the best way to access the program. CPSU does not save a browsing history so you may very well lose any work you have done so far.
The CPS U homepage looks like this:
On the left hand side of the screen is a the menu. The menu you may have on your screen may differ from this one depending on your level of use within CPS University. For this tutorial we will occupy ourselves with Self Service and My Favorites.
To the left of each heading are small triangles. Clicking the triangle will drop down a submenu within the main menu:
If you click on the menu title then you will open the submenu in the middle of the screen:
Each of the links in this menu allows you access a different part of of CPSU.
Self Service
Self service is where you go to search for and sign up for different learning activities, look at the status of current learning activities, and check on the status of learning objectives and certifications. We will concentrate on searching and browsing the catalog here as well as take a quick look at current learning. Everything else is covered more extensively in trainings offered by CPSU.
Current Learning
Under Current Learning you will see all the recent trainings you have taken and what future trainings you have waiting for you.
You can see your most recent completed or in-progress trainings. Clicking All My Learning at the bottom will reveal all the trainings you have attended, dropped or not finished that you have signed up for. From this screen you can also search new activities at the top, then on the right hand side you can also drop in-progress learning or launch any training again.
Search Catalog
When you click search catalog you are presented with a search box. You can search by activity, catalog items, programs or through all of them.
After typing in a key word you will be presented with list of available items corresponding to your search. You can click Enroll to enroll in the item or click on the item heading itself to enroll and learn more about the item. If there is a specific training that has been assigned to you then it may already appear in your learning activities. You can enroll there.
Browse Catalog
Browsing differs from searching in that you are looking for trainings not by a keyword but instead by a category.
Though there are numerous different categories only a few are available. All trainings will fall under one category. It is advised that you search rather than browse, since it is easy to find what it is you are looking for.
My Favorites
The My Favorites submenu is a very convenient way to add quick links to avoid numerous clicks to get to your destination. There are two ways to add something to My Favorites.
The first step is to navigate to the page you want to add. So if you want to add Current Learning to your favorites navigate to that page.
In the upper right hand corner of the page are three links. The middle one is Add to Favorites. Clicking that will add the current page to your favorites.
The first heading in the menu on the left hand side is My Favorites. Opening that submenu will present you with a few options. All of the favorites you create will appear there. You can also add favorites by clicking Add to Favorites while on the page you want add.
You can edit your favorites here, adjusting their order as well as removing them.
To access CPS University you can either log in to CPS@Work and choose the appropriate icon or link:
Or type this into the address bar of your web browser: https://cpsuniversity.cps.k12.il.us/
You maybe prompted to enter your login and password which will be the same as it is for all the other CPS logins.
Never hit the Back and Forward buttons of your web browser while using CPS U. Though it may look like a webpage, CPSU is a program run off a server downtown. A web browser is the best way to access the program. CPSU does not save a browsing history so you may very well lose any work you have done so far.
The CPS U homepage looks like this:
On the left hand side of the screen is a the menu. The menu you may have on your screen may differ from this one depending on your level of use within CPS University. For this tutorial we will occupy ourselves with Self Service and My Favorites.
To the left of each heading are small triangles. Clicking the triangle will drop down a submenu within the main menu:
If you click on the menu title then you will open the submenu in the middle of the screen:
Each of the links in this menu allows you access a different part of of CPSU.
Self Service
Self service is where you go to search for and sign up for different learning activities, look at the status of current learning activities, and check on the status of learning objectives and certifications. We will concentrate on searching and browsing the catalog here as well as take a quick look at current learning. Everything else is covered more extensively in trainings offered by CPSU.Current Learning
Under Current Learning you will see all the recent trainings you have taken and what future trainings you have waiting for you.You can see your most recent completed or in-progress trainings. Clicking All My Learning at the bottom will reveal all the trainings you have attended, dropped or not finished that you have signed up for. From this screen you can also search new activities at the top, then on the right hand side you can also drop in-progress learning or launch any training again.
Search Catalog
When you click search catalog you are presented with a search box. You can search by activity, catalog items, programs or through all of them.After typing in a key word you will be presented with list of available items corresponding to your search. You can click Enroll to enroll in the item or click on the item heading itself to enroll and learn more about the item. If there is a specific training that has been assigned to you then it may already appear in your learning activities. You can enroll there.
Browse Catalog
Browsing differs from searching in that you are looking for trainings not by a keyword but instead by a category.Though there are numerous different categories only a few are available. All trainings will fall under one category. It is advised that you search rather than browse, since it is easy to find what it is you are looking for.
My Favorites
The My Favorites submenu is a very convenient way to add quick links to avoid numerous clicks to get to your destination. There are two ways to add something to My Favorites.The first step is to navigate to the page you want to add. So if you want to add Current Learning to your favorites navigate to that page.
In the upper right hand corner of the page are three links. The middle one is Add to Favorites. Clicking that will add the current page to your favorites.
The first heading in the menu on the left hand side is My Favorites. Opening that submenu will present you with a few options. All of the favorites you create will appear there. You can also add favorites by clicking Add to Favorites while on the page you want add.
You can edit your favorites here, adjusting their order as well as removing them.